head. "Well, it's up to the lab guys now. I can't find anything wrong and I've spent almost all of last night rummaging around in there." He gestured toward the corpses. Then he turned and walked away, still shaking his head. "I'm giving up."
Cecily and Lisa followed him into the wash room. After a thorough scrubbing the M.E. seemed to wander aimlessly away.
Cecily caught him in the hallway. "Got somewhere I can make a private call with my cell phone?"
The M.E. nodded and ushered them into an office. The pictures of a robust and large family, including the M.E. as a ruddy sort of patriarch, made Cecily guess that the office was his. On the wall was a sign, Erin Go Bragh .
" If you've got a magic wand," he said gruffly, "we could sure use it now."
Lisa said, "Maybe the CDC doesn't have the right antigen."
Cecily glanced at the M.E., who gave her a sharp look back. "She's new," said Cecily.
They 'd gotten the news an hour ago that the CDC had exhausted their diagnostic reagents and found nothing.
" Look," said Lisa, "just because all of the CDC tests turned up negative doesn't mean it's a new bug."
Cecily finished punching the numbers on her phone. She looked at Lisa. "Honey, if the CDC doesn't have the right diagnostic reagent, it doesn't exist."
Lisa 's face reddened. "You can stop calling me 'honey.'"
The M.E. coughed politely. "We'll find out what killed those men. Somebody will, anyway. It's just going to take a little spot of time. Cell by cell, chemical by chemical, we'll take 'em apart and put 'em back together again if we have to."
Kraig Drennan answered Cecily 's call. She gave him a summary of what the M.E. had told her.
Kraig interrupted her. "Were some of the physiological tests spoiled by the processing of the bodies?"
Glancing at the M.E., Cecily said, "Possibly. It's hard to tell. But I think most of the new data are good."
Kraig didn 't sound convinced.
" We've initiated corrective action," said the M.E. "Too late for those two, I know."
Cecily relayed his remark to Kraig.
"That's all right," said Kraig acidly. "We'll just have to wait for more bodies to show up."
Cecily changed the subject. "I suppose you heard about the CDC." After Kraig told her he had, Cecily glanced at Lisa. Then into the phone she said, "I don't suppose they could have missed one. I mean, they did it awfully fast."
" It's all automated these days. And I told them it was a rush job. Forget it. They used their whole repertoire of reagents. I got the list. If there's a bug still hiding in the tissues of those bodies, it's a new one. And remember, the immune systems of the victims were relatively quiet, so maybe there's no virus, no bug at all. But we can't be sure. It might be a slippery one."
" Lisa's going to check on the local hospital and clinics, and some of the other hospitals in the county. Maybe we'll call Philadelphia too while we're at it. I'll be trying to backtrack the victims. Any special instructions?"
Kraig said "No," and killed the connection.
" Not very encouraging?" observed Lisa.
" What'd you want him to do, honey? Shake some pom-poms and give us a cheer? We're doing what we can." Cecily glided toward the door. "Thanks, doc. We'll be in touch."
The M.E. held up a big hand and Cecily stopped.
"If you want some humble advice...."
Cecily grinned. Her grin clearly made the M.E. uneasy, but he grinned back. He said, "Not that you need it, you understand."
" I understand. And I never turn down advice. Hit me."
" Well...I appreciate how you'd be thinking about bugs in all of this, what with the epidemics of the last few years, and thanks to the faster way folks are traveling around the world nowadays, and the terrorists, and the new bugs in Asia and all...."
" But?" prompted Cecily.
" But I don't think it's a virus. There's no indication of infection. You want my opinion, it's going to turn out to be a chemical. And probably something they ate or breathed. We got lots of chemicals floating around in
Cecily and Lisa followed him into the wash room. After a thorough scrubbing the M.E. seemed to wander aimlessly away.
Cecily caught him in the hallway. "Got somewhere I can make a private call with my cell phone?"
The M.E. nodded and ushered them into an office. The pictures of a robust and large family, including the M.E. as a ruddy sort of patriarch, made Cecily guess that the office was his. On the wall was a sign, Erin Go Bragh .
" If you've got a magic wand," he said gruffly, "we could sure use it now."
Lisa said, "Maybe the CDC doesn't have the right antigen."
Cecily glanced at the M.E., who gave her a sharp look back. "She's new," said Cecily.
They 'd gotten the news an hour ago that the CDC had exhausted their diagnostic reagents and found nothing.
" Look," said Lisa, "just because all of the CDC tests turned up negative doesn't mean it's a new bug."
Cecily finished punching the numbers on her phone. She looked at Lisa. "Honey, if the CDC doesn't have the right diagnostic reagent, it doesn't exist."
Lisa 's face reddened. "You can stop calling me 'honey.'"
The M.E. coughed politely. "We'll find out what killed those men. Somebody will, anyway. It's just going to take a little spot of time. Cell by cell, chemical by chemical, we'll take 'em apart and put 'em back together again if we have to."
Kraig Drennan answered Cecily 's call. She gave him a summary of what the M.E. had told her.
Kraig interrupted her. "Were some of the physiological tests spoiled by the processing of the bodies?"
Glancing at the M.E., Cecily said, "Possibly. It's hard to tell. But I think most of the new data are good."
Kraig didn 't sound convinced.
" We've initiated corrective action," said the M.E. "Too late for those two, I know."
Cecily relayed his remark to Kraig.
"That's all right," said Kraig acidly. "We'll just have to wait for more bodies to show up."
Cecily changed the subject. "I suppose you heard about the CDC." After Kraig told her he had, Cecily glanced at Lisa. Then into the phone she said, "I don't suppose they could have missed one. I mean, they did it awfully fast."
" It's all automated these days. And I told them it was a rush job. Forget it. They used their whole repertoire of reagents. I got the list. If there's a bug still hiding in the tissues of those bodies, it's a new one. And remember, the immune systems of the victims were relatively quiet, so maybe there's no virus, no bug at all. But we can't be sure. It might be a slippery one."
" Lisa's going to check on the local hospital and clinics, and some of the other hospitals in the county. Maybe we'll call Philadelphia too while we're at it. I'll be trying to backtrack the victims. Any special instructions?"
Kraig said "No," and killed the connection.
" Not very encouraging?" observed Lisa.
" What'd you want him to do, honey? Shake some pom-poms and give us a cheer? We're doing what we can." Cecily glided toward the door. "Thanks, doc. We'll be in touch."
The M.E. held up a big hand and Cecily stopped.
"If you want some humble advice...."
Cecily grinned. Her grin clearly made the M.E. uneasy, but he grinned back. He said, "Not that you need it, you understand."
" I understand. And I never turn down advice. Hit me."
" Well...I appreciate how you'd be thinking about bugs in all of this, what with the epidemics of the last few years, and thanks to the faster way folks are traveling around the world nowadays, and the terrorists, and the new bugs in Asia and all...."
" But?" prompted Cecily.
" But I don't think it's a virus. There's no indication of infection. You want my opinion, it's going to turn out to be a chemical. And probably something they ate or breathed. We got lots of chemicals floating around in
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